When speech development takes the slow lane

 

We were concerned when Elvin at 18 months lagged in speech development. A friend advised us to be patient. According to her some children were like that.

I wrote to her recently

Elvin turned two on 13March2026.

We held a lunch get-together on 14thMarch to celebrate. It was confined to close relatives. His maternal grandparents joined us travelling all the way from Kadammanitta.

It was a happy experience.

In the evening, at the close of family prayer time, he joined everyone blurting out 'Amen,' that marks the conclusion.

The past couple of days he had been talking in his own language that he alone could decipher. But in between Amma and Appa comes out occasionally.

When I related speech development was slow to my younger brother, his response was, Elvin's father also had been like that.

But those were the days we both were on a mad race and where personal matters had always faded away into insignificance.

And no one had bothered about such trivial issues either those days.

It was your genuine concern for the child that made me  put the foot down and and decree a cooling period till he reached three as advised by Dr. Abraham, the richly experienced Paediatrician.

The child shows a high level of intelligence. He indulges in activities we suggest. He displays his affection vehemently. He runs around. The vision and hearing are sharp. Looks up at the faint sound when someone opens the gate. Displays his emotions. He conveys in his own way what he wants and he manages to land that.

I just wonder what would have happened if your advice hadn't come at the right moment.

Managing children is ok. But managing the mother who is much concerned is indeed  a tough proposition as her concern is genuine.